pikey motorsports
Track Warrior
Ok, so iv seen in numerous places on this forum people talking about cone filters and back boxes making extra bhp... WRONG!
On the vast majority of "normal" (read none performance) vehicles, a cone filter will LOSE you power. This is due to the heat in the engine bay being sucked directly into the intake via the cone. On HIGH performance engines, ie skylines,impreza sti's, evo's (you get the idea) a cone filter can be used without a loss in power as the engine management is preset to take this into account.
your average car (clio,corsa,polo,escort,golf etc) is not. they are set from the factory to run slightly lean so as to provide better mpg/less emissions.
even high performance engines benefit from an enclosed airbox design, such as the k&n typhoon. but look at it this way, if you fully enclose a cone filter what have you got? an AIRBOX!
put a performance panel filter in if you want to help your car breathe better!
and if you really cant live without the induction sound, drill some holes into the wing and front sides of the airbox, under the panel filter.
next, back boxes adding 5bhp etc....WRONG AGAIN!
a backbox will add sod all BHP. even a full cat back exhaust system will only add an average of 5bhp. removing the Catalytic converter will probably give you around the same gain.
the only exhaust option your going to see any real gain from is a FULL manifold back exhaust system.
choose a 4-1 manifold for mid to top end power or a 4-2-1 for low and midrange improvement. also, dont overdo it with the bore of the exhaust. there is no point running a 3" pipework straight through on a 1.2 etc. as an example, a standard or mildly tuned 2.0 16V should be running around 2.25" pipework, 2.5" if well tuned,3.0" for a SERIOUSLY tuned engine.
some exhaust manufacturers claim a full matched manifold and system can gain you as much as 15% of the engines power, so in theory a 150bhp engine could see as much as 22.5bhp gain. This is however VERY unlikely, even a 10% gain is hard to achieve on a relatively standard engine.
what does gain power is combining modifications and remapping the cars ecu to adjust the fuelling and ignition curves to suit your mods.
Ebay special ECU chips are not worth the risk BTW, you just dont know what has been programmed, if it will be compatible with your engines state of tune etc. either get a proper remap, or dont bother!
The bottom line with engine tuning is "you get what you pay for".
BHP doesnt come cheap, proper engine mods like porting and polishing the head along with bigger exhaust valves costs strong money, but it is worth every penny!
i have a spare 16v head thats going to be getting a full stage 4 port and polish, black carbide coated oversize exhaust valves and multi angle valve seats. thats close to £600. the gain in bhp will be around 15bhp. but thats going onto an already tuned engine.
Sorry for the rant, but it really gets my goat up that people believe/talk this kind of crap!
:sad2:
On the vast majority of "normal" (read none performance) vehicles, a cone filter will LOSE you power. This is due to the heat in the engine bay being sucked directly into the intake via the cone. On HIGH performance engines, ie skylines,impreza sti's, evo's (you get the idea) a cone filter can be used without a loss in power as the engine management is preset to take this into account.
your average car (clio,corsa,polo,escort,golf etc) is not. they are set from the factory to run slightly lean so as to provide better mpg/less emissions.
even high performance engines benefit from an enclosed airbox design, such as the k&n typhoon. but look at it this way, if you fully enclose a cone filter what have you got? an AIRBOX!
put a performance panel filter in if you want to help your car breathe better!
and if you really cant live without the induction sound, drill some holes into the wing and front sides of the airbox, under the panel filter.
next, back boxes adding 5bhp etc....WRONG AGAIN!
a backbox will add sod all BHP. even a full cat back exhaust system will only add an average of 5bhp. removing the Catalytic converter will probably give you around the same gain.
the only exhaust option your going to see any real gain from is a FULL manifold back exhaust system.
choose a 4-1 manifold for mid to top end power or a 4-2-1 for low and midrange improvement. also, dont overdo it with the bore of the exhaust. there is no point running a 3" pipework straight through on a 1.2 etc. as an example, a standard or mildly tuned 2.0 16V should be running around 2.25" pipework, 2.5" if well tuned,3.0" for a SERIOUSLY tuned engine.
some exhaust manufacturers claim a full matched manifold and system can gain you as much as 15% of the engines power, so in theory a 150bhp engine could see as much as 22.5bhp gain. This is however VERY unlikely, even a 10% gain is hard to achieve on a relatively standard engine.
what does gain power is combining modifications and remapping the cars ecu to adjust the fuelling and ignition curves to suit your mods.
Ebay special ECU chips are not worth the risk BTW, you just dont know what has been programmed, if it will be compatible with your engines state of tune etc. either get a proper remap, or dont bother!
The bottom line with engine tuning is "you get what you pay for".
BHP doesnt come cheap, proper engine mods like porting and polishing the head along with bigger exhaust valves costs strong money, but it is worth every penny!
i have a spare 16v head thats going to be getting a full stage 4 port and polish, black carbide coated oversize exhaust valves and multi angle valve seats. thats close to £600. the gain in bhp will be around 15bhp. but thats going onto an already tuned engine.
Sorry for the rant, but it really gets my goat up that people believe/talk this kind of crap!
:sad2: